could I use a blender to get cherries ready?

[humann_brewing]

So I am in the prep stages to do my annual cherry mead from the tree out back. I want to have a lot of cherry taste in this and was wondering if after I froze, thawed and de-pit them, why couldn't I use a blender to pulverize them so the sugar is more accessible basically liquid form.

Am I crazy or do people do this and I just don't know?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

That seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. It might end up speeding up the process of that secondary fermentation, though freezing the cherries before-hand breaks the cell walls and makes the sugar easy accessible already.

Good luck!

 

[humann_brewing]

That seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. It might end up speeding up the process of that secondary fermentation, though freezing the cherries before-hand breaks the cell walls and makes the sugar easy accessible already.

Good luck!

I guess the other reason would be to get more liquid in the end. I would imagine just mashed cherries would soak up some of the precious mead more than if they were just pulverized.

 

[oldmate]

That sounds fine if you pit and de-stem them. Make sure you put it in a grain/muslin bag otherwise you will end up losing a lot of your mead to sediment.

 

[maskednegator]

Good luck racking that. I did something similar in a beer and lost a lot of it to the fruit.

 

[humann_brewing]

Good luck racking that. I did something similar in a beer and lost a lot of it to the fruit.

did you crash cool before transferring? I will be in no hurry and probably crash cool in the 30s for a couple of weeks.

 

[oldmate]

Yeah, but the amount of trub you will get from it without it being in a bag will be insane.

 

[Texron]

I want to make the Strawberry Pizazz recipe and I have considered chopping the strawberries while frozen. I bought all my Strawberries frozen at the super market. Thought I would chop them in the blender while frozen and pour the whole thing back into a zip lock bag to re-freeze. ANd then when the whole 17 pounds are chopped and frozen pull them out to thaw on brew day. But I definitely plan to put them into a brew bag so I won't have such a mess to deal with.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

 

[oldmate]

That sounds alright. I was reading through that thread earlier and one of the brewers said that chopping them up into small chunks was the best method he has used. Definitely use a bag though!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

So I am in the prep stages to do my annual cherry mead from the tree out back. I want to have a lot of cherry taste in this and was wondering if after I froze, thawed and de-pit them, why couldn't I use a blender to pulverize them so the sugar is more accessible basically liquid form.

Am I crazy or do people do this and I just don't know?

I've learned from experience that it's much easier to pit cherries before you freeze them. I use this to pit them:
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitche...___Lehman_s__Best_Cherry_Pitter___17106?Args=

You'll get better extraction if you freeze/thaw at least twice, it helps to break down cell walls. Also use pectic enzyme on those cherries. I've used pureed fruit & crushed fruit, I think I get more lees & lose more must using the puree.

Are you planning on adding your fruit to primary or secondary, or both? I like to add to both, I think it gives me more flavour & truer flavour in secondary, but adding to primary adds a bit of depth to that flavour.

You could also add pure cherry juice, all the flavour, none of the trub. http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/just-juice/
They have 2 kinds of cherry juice; I learned the hard way that the tart cherry juice is pretty tart & a little goes a long way; next time I'll try the black cherry juice.

I think your best bet, whichever technique you decide to use, would be to mix up an extra gallon or 2 of mead must so you can use that to top up with after you rack off the fruit.
Regards, GF.

 

[Yooper]

I wouldn't use a blender. I've found that for some reason, when you use a blender, the mead/wine NEVER clears!

I do the same as gratus mentioned- wash them and then do a freeze/thaw cycle. I then put them in a sanitized mesh bag and put them in my primary. Adding some pectic enzyme to them helps extract even more juice, and then I use a big spoon to stir daily for the first few days. They turn out to be just a bag of skins within 5-6 days and I remove them and squeeze.

I don't have a press, so I do all of my fruit wines, meads, and ciders that way! It works well, and the fruit gives up a ton of flavor.

 

[humann_brewing]

thanks everyone! I think I will skip the blender and use a bag, freeze and thaw twice as well